Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-29
THE STRIKE QUESTION.
A Clear Statement from One
whose Eyes are Omen.


THE STRIKE QUESTION.
A Clear Statement from One
Whose Eyes are Open.
Aside from actual warfare, probably
nothing in modern times has been a
more fruitful cause Of poverty and
misery than strikes. The loss il
mutual and irremediable. Amidst the
noise of self-interested demagogues,
and the smoke and dust of party feel
ing, the central core of the question is
very frequently lost sight of, namely,
that master and man are both in the
same boat. This is true to an extent
that neither party seems willing to
admit. Labor certainly cannot get
along without capital, but capital with
out the aid of skilled labor would be
infinitely less productive. 1t is pro-
badly not too much to say that the
utilization of labor imparts three
fourths of its value to capital.
A moments reflection will convince
a workman that the wages paid him
have to come out of the profits of the
the business in which he is employed.
Unless an employer be successful, his
ability to hire labor and pay wages
must naturally come to more or less
speedy termination. Intelligent COM
bination has achieved an immense
amelioration in the circumstances of
the working classes-increased pay
and reduced hours of labor. The con-
dition of the employer has improved
too. The volume OF wealth gained by
the boundless development of natural
resources and the increased demand
for every branch of production conse-
quent upon the increase of population,
have placed the just demands of labor
in the front rank of national questions
But here the problem at once presents
itself-what are the just demands of
labor? In word, is it not the right
of labor to receive remuneration in
proportion to the profits earned by
capital chiefly bv the aid of labor?
Formerly there was no hardship in
master paying say 81 dollar per day
to his workman, when all concerned
were, so to speak, on 81 level. The
profits of capital and the expenses of
labor were both proportionately lower.
But to-day, where profits have in
creased three-fold, and living expenses
at an equal ratio, it is simply justice
for the employe to receive three
times the pay. Equally unjust, how
ever, would it be for the workman to
demand nine dollars per day while
his employers business remained at
the three-dollar standpoint. The
answer would instantly be "the busi-
ness won't afford it."
Every united effort on the part of
labor to obtain from capital as much
remuneration as capital can afford to
pay is perfectly justifiable, but the
moment that limit is overstepped the
effort becomes short-sighted folly.
The main point to keep in sight is
that the vital interests OF both
capital and labor are identical.
To speculate upon time when dis
passionate reason will hold the bal
ance in the settlement of these ques-
tions seems like discounting the
millennium, and yet the majority of
those who have passed through pro-
longed and embittered strike know
that it is an almost unmixed evil,
whichever side wins. The time has
been lost to labor, every working hour
representing so much money, and
capital has run the risk of business
<a1 int of
invariably the case to greater or less
extent, besides the actual loss IRON
arrested production.
Could capital be induced to see that
highly-skilied, well-paid, contented
labor is the strongest arm on which 1T
has to lean and labor, on its side,
perceive that the more prosperous
and stable capital becomes the greater
reflex advantage to itself, the 'good
time coming" would surely not be far
off. AN ONLOOKER.
Los Angeles, August 27, 1887.
Certainly no sane person will at
tempt to controvert the above we'll
put propositions-with single ex-
ception. All but that exception are
elementary. That one is the absolute
proposition that the profits accruing
to capital have increased in a three
fold ratio, no more, no less. Some
employees might contend that the
three-dollar is too high, and some
of the wage winners might hold that
such rate is too low. Perhaps the
truth is that in some enterprises that
ratio of increase in profit
is too high, and in others too low. In
some cases there is less profit than
there was ten years ago. And there
is. there can be no fixed ratio OF
profit. That is always variable
quantity. In some cases person
employing capital in industrial enter
prise has to confront a ratio OF down
right loss instead of profit, and that
for long period at time. This is
fact too often forgotten by the en-
ploye who never shares this burden
excepting in the event OF the works
shutting down. In that case the loss
is entailed by loss of employment
simply. That goes to offset that class
of proprietors who never recognize the
rights of their employees.